


Masks and the False Sense of Security

by l_ermite



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Completely fluff, F/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mostly Fluff, and going, it just kept going, it's not, look it was supposed to be a one shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-27
Updated: 2016-09-27
Packaged: 2018-08-17 14:26:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8147387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/l_ermite/pseuds/l_ermite
Summary: There's a parade. Marinette, as class rep, has to present the class's idea for their float. Unfortunately, Alya's idea sparks and interest amongst all the classmates and now they're doing an akuma-themed float where they all dress up as their akumatized selves.Except there are two classmates who haven't been akumatized.





	1. The Float

**Author's Note:**

> alright. I inserted some French phrases in here, only I'm too lazy to find the correct accents to make them proper french. Just roll with it. I'm in my second (ish) year of studying french in college.  
> I think for the most part, the phrases are either A) commonly used in most fanfics, B) pretty obvious, or C) ridiculous and don't really matter anyway.  
> 11.17.16 Update: I might eventually comb through this and fix the 9000 grammatical errors, but I really just wanted to say thanks to all of you for reading this garbage and leaving kudos/comments. I'm glad to know that there are others out there who enjoy trash as much as I do. Thanks guys!

"Guys-- Guys," Alyagrabbed Juleka's arm as the idea struck her.   
Marinette stumbled back a step to catch up with her BFF. She was use to the red-headed blogger to jump without thought, so the bluenette just smiled as she joined Juleka, Rose, and Nathanael in the courtyard.   
"I just had the GREATEST IDEA for our class's float in the parade!!"   
"What is it, Alya?" Marinette asked. As class rep, she was supposed to present the ideas to the Principal in a meeting later that week.   
"WHAT IF WE DID A LADYBUG THEME???"   
Marinette was somewhat glad that she wasn't the only one rolling her eyes at Alya. Nath at least seemed just as unenthused. A ladybug float wasn't necessarily the worst idea-- that had already been on the list of possibilities for a while. But Alya brought up the ladybug theme to everything. The school dance, the year book, the school blog, anything that could be themed, she tried to theme ladybug.   
"Alya, we just had the Ladybug Ball," Nath pointed out, jabbing his stylus in her direction. "Maybe we should do something besides ladybug?"  
"No, no!" Alya shook her head quickly. "Hear me out-- we do a ladybug theme, but we all dress up as our akumatized selves!!!"   
Nath widened his eyes, and Juleka began smiling slightly. "That sounds like a good idea," Juleka said quietly.  
Rose nodded in agreement. "Yeah-- that might be fun!"   
Marinette tried to keep her grimace under control. "But not everyone has been akumatized yet," she pointed out. "I haven't."   
All four friends blinked back at her, as if realizing this for the first time. "That's right, Mari," Alya said. "You haven't-- how could I forget?"   
"How does that happen?" Nath asked.   
Marinette looked at him. His face turned a little pink under her gaze. "I-I just mean," Nath began scrambling. "You-- and then, like, Chloe…. How-- Er, ah, How did you-- I mean, do you stay so calm? How has Hawk Moth never had the chance to akumatize you?"   
Marinette blinked, trying to scramble for an answer. "I- uh," she stumbled.   
Luckily relief came in the form of Alya's boyfriend Nino and his best friend Adrien.   
"Hey, babe," he said, leaning over to kiss Alya's cheek. Alya nudged him affectionately with her shoulder.   
Adrien smiled at Marinette and then the rest of the group. "What's up, guys?" he asked, smiling brightly. He had just heard that his fencing instructor was ill and practice was cancelled. It was a good day.   
"We're trying to figure out why Marinette's never been akumatized," Rose supplied, smiling back.   
Adrien blinked. "Huh. It's probably just because she's so amazing," he said, putting a casual hand on her shoulder for a moment.   
Marinette.exe has crashed.   
Nino glanced at his friend, kind of hoping that Adrien would finally see what effect he had on Marinette and maybe just ask the girl out already. Then the DJ realized something. "Bro. Have you ever been akumatized?"   
Adrien blanked for a moment on what a proper response would have been. "Oh… uh… no, actually I haven't."   
"Hey! That works!!!" Alya practically jumped.   
Her friends did jump.   
"You can be Chat Noir," Alya jabbed Adrien in the chest. "And you," she turned on her best friend. "Can be our Ladybug! It's perfect!!!"   
Marinette felt all color drain from her face. She couldn't be entirely sure until she consulted TIkki, but she was about 95% sure that dressing up as your own alter ego was against the code of conduct for superheroes.   
"I-- no!" Marinette gasped. "I can't-- I."  
At the same time, Adrien was spouting much the same nonesense. "That-- no, I probably-- I can't--. What are we even talking about?"   
"C'mon guys," Alya whinned. "Please?" Over the summer, Alya had mastered Manon's baby-doll eyes. She turned them on her best friend.   
Marinette winced away. Adrien winced for her, although he couldn't imagine why Marinette wouldn't want to be ladybug. Heck, Adrien half wanted to volunteer to be ladybug himself.   
"Oh-- ugh…" Marinette caved. "Alright. Alright. I'll do it."   
Adrien, on the other hand, was fairly certain that this was a terrible idea. He doubted his father would approve, for one, and for two, he was fairly certain the he shouldn't be cosplaying as himself. It just seemed like a bad idea. Granted, getting a costume would be pretty easy.   
"It's for the parade, Adrien," Alya turned on him now that Marinette was secured. "Please? You have to be a part of it."  
Ah. The Parade.   
Alya had a point, Adrien realized grimly. He really did have to be a part of it. It was for a grade and part of the "perfect son" image he had been trying to build for his entire life.   
"I-- uh.. Well, I guess. Okay. Yeah," Adrien said. "Sure, I'll be Chat Noir."


	2. Just Thoughts from Both Sides

As soon as word reached the rest of their classmates, they had everyone on board. Even Chloe, which was surprising. Without having to hold a formal poll, Marinette's class had decided on a theme for their float.   
Marinette collapsed on her bed at the end of one particularly tiring school day. There had been an akuma-- a man who's wife was divorcing him-- and Marinette had been asked to make a list of all the costumes they would need for the float.   
So many.  
So many was the answer.   
It surprised her how emotionally painful it was to think about all of her classmates as akuma victims. Stoneheart, Dark Cupid, Lady Wifi, Vanisher, Evillustrator, Timebreaker?? When had all of Marinette's friends become icons of Hawk Moth's power?   
That wasn't supposed to be Marinette's concern. But it was Ladybug's.   
Tikki flew out of Marinette's purse and landed on her head. "Are you okay, Marinette?"   
"Yeah," the teenager sighed. "I'm just tired."   
Tikki patted her chosen's head affectionately. "You're doing a great job, Marinette. As Ladybug, and as a civilian."  
"Thanks, Tikki," Marinette sighed. "I just want five minutes, then I'll be productive."   
Tikki didn't respond, but continued to pat Marinette's head.   
After a short silence, Marinette's thoughts wandered to where they always went when left to their own devices.   
Adrien.   
Marinette stared at his face on her wall. The golden hair, the green eyes. He didn't look imposing, and yet the thought of forming an articulate word in front of him was almost too much to bear.   
She hadn't had much of an opportunity to talk to Adrien about the whole situation. The thought of Adrien dressing up like her partner-- Marinette paled at the comparison.   
Sure, maybe Adrien looked a bit like Chat Noir, but…   
It was ridiculous. Adrien and Chat Noir were absolutely nothing alike. In fact, Marinette was pretty sure that Adrien would absolutely hate Chat if Adrien met him in person. Chat was just so… so… careless. He just-- well, there was the shameless flirting, the puns in tense situations, it was like he couldn't understand that this was a serious matter, not to be taken lightly.  
Whereas Adrien knew what responsibility meant.   
Marinette shoved her face into her pillow.   
That wasn't being fair to Chat and Marinette knew it. Chat was responsible. He took his duty seriously. He just… he was just…  
Chat.   
And not Adrien. 

Adrien collapsed on his bed with a grunt. That akuma had been nasty. Worse yet, the float preparations were still proceeding steadily. He had been half-hoping that something would have happened to scrap the akuma-theme idea. Unfortunately, everyone was really getting into it.   
Plagg zipped out of Adrien's bag and sat on his shoulder, bringing the pungent smell of camembert closer than Adrien would have preferred.   
"How are things with the girlfriend?" Plagg asked.  
Adrien was only surprised that Marinette had come up before cheese. "She's not my girlfriend," Adrien grumbled, wondering what the repurcussions of tossing his kwami across the room would be. "She's just a friend."  
"Who's going to be dressed up like your lady love," Plagg pointed out helpfully.   
Adrien felt his face burn, but he chose to ignore the kwami. Despite the akuma attack, today had still been a good day. He had seen her. She had been there. They had fought together seamlessly once again. It still thrilled him how in sync they were with each other.  
Adrien was used to being alone. He was used to being kept at a distance-- but Ladybug. Ladybug was his perfect other half. Without talking, they could synchronize their movements, watch each other's backs, distract while the other attacked and attack while the other one distracted. It was flawless.   
That kind of unity with someone became something of a craving. He wanted to be in tune with someone like that all the time. He wanted to be able to just react as one-- like he did with Ladybug.   
He loved her, wholly, and shamelessly.


	3. The Grand Marshal and Little Objects that are Hard to Find

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The REVEAL   
> because I'm a sucker for a good trope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is garbage. I am trash. But it was fun to write this. Who needs to do homework anyway?

They were doing a dress rehearsal a few hours before the actual parade. Marinette had debated long and hard with Tikki over whether wearing the actual ladybug costume would be unethical. They decided it was and thus Marinette was forced to create an exact replica of her own costume as well as assist in the creation of several other costumes for her classmates-- Sabrina's in particular took some rather creative ingenuity.   
Marinette was self conscious as she walked up to school dressed as Ladybug. The parade would be just around the block of the school. That was good. Had it been the Champs Elysee, Marinette suspected that at least one person would be able to connect the dots.   
Hopefully that one person wouldn't be Hawk Moth.   
"Hey Marinette!" Nino was the first to notice her. He was there in a bright rubbery suit and blue facepaint-- all decked out like the Bubbler. "You look legit!"   
Marinette smiled and waved back. Ah, if only you knew.  
Alya turned when Marinette's name was mentioned. Alya's Lady Wifi costume was partially designed by Marinette herself-- but Marinette was still pleased at how well it had turned out.   
Alya grinned. "Girl! You look like you could be Ladybug's long-lost twin or something!"   
Marinette searched through the growing crowd, naming off the akuma victims as she saw them. Reflecta!Juleka, Princess Fragrance!Rose, Antibug!Chloe, even Dark Cupid!Kim. More and more kept coming in their homemade costumes of their akumatized selves.   
Marinette turned away from the crowd and nearly ran into Adrien-- "Chat?" She half-choked her partner's name. And then coughed awkwardly, blinking several times in quick succession. "Oh, Ah, Adrien, that's a great costume!"  
Adrien seemed transfixed-- he didn't speak for a minute, but managed to recover himself amiably. "Yours too, Ma- Marinette!" He smiled awkwardly. "You look a lot like ladybug!"   
Marinette tried to not let her smile become a grimace. "I get that a lot," she said. "Thanks! Uh-- do you know where we're supposed to be?"   
"Oh, uhm…. no, here, I'll ask-- Alya!" He called to Lady Wifi across a considerable distance.   
Alya looked up, caught sight of Chat Noir!Adrien and grinned. "Wow, Agreste! You could give Chat Noir a run for his money!"   
Adrien smiled tightly. "Thanks! Where did you want me and L- Marinette?"   
"Could you both just sit up there?" She pointed to the very top of their mobile set designed to look like the Paris cityscape. "Near the top of the Eiffel Tower?"   
Adrien nodded. He led Marinette through the crowd of their akumatized friends and toward the back of the truck that would be carrying them. It wasn't until he thought about offering Marinette a hand to step up on the platform that he realized he had been dragging her by the hand the whole time.   
His eyes widened and his face turned pale. "Ah!" he dropped her hand quickly. "Sorry, Marinette-- I wasn't thinking-- uh…" You just remind me so much of the love of my life it's getting hard to separate the two faces in my mind.  
Marinette didn't respond-- her face beneath the mask burning red.   
Y'know, Adrien thought to himself, smiling as Marinette climbed onto the platform, If I could make Ladybug blush as easily as Marinette blushes around me, I'd probably already be dating the girl of my dreams.   
Adrien followed after her, perching himself beside her on their plastic Eiffel Tower. He grinned at her-- and then balked as he realized that that was much more of a Chat mannerism than an Adrien mannerism.   
"So.. uh…" Adrien scrapped his mind for any topic of conversation. Pull it together, Agreste. "Are you a fan of Ladybug?"   
Marinette took a deep breath. Pretend you're just talking with Chat, she told herself.   
"Kind of," she admitted, smiling softly back at Chat!Adrien. "Being friends with Alya-- it's hard not to have second-hand obsession. What about you? Are you a fan of the Cat and Bug team?"   
"Bug and Cat," Adrien corrected without thinking. "Kind of," he allowed with a self-depreciating smile. "Ladybug is amazing."   
Marinette's eyebrows knit together. "What about Chat?"   
Adrien couldn't really do anything but shrug.   
Marinette huffed slightly. "I'm sorry to disagree with you, Adrien, but Chat is just as amazing as Ladybug." She shook her head and looked across at her classmates as they began to take their places on the float. "Ladybug wouldn't be half the hero everyone thinks she is without Chat Noir." Marinette would defend her partner, in or out of the mask.   
Adrien wasn't quite sure what he was hearing, but it sounded like a mild insult to Ladybug. Adrien would defend his partner, in or out of the mask.   
"What do you mean?" He asked pointedly. "Ladybug is ten thousand times the hero Chat could ever hope to be-- she's the one who does all the real work. He just protects her until she can finish it."  
Marinette shook her head forcefully. "No. They're partners-- equals. I bet Ladybug would have given up a long time ago if she didn't have Chat Noir there. Without Chat Noir there would be no Ladybug.  
"But--."  
"But nothing," Marinette interrupted him, surprising herself with the force of her tone-- especially to Adrien. "Chat Noir is just as much the savior of Paris as Ladybug is. They work best together-- not alone. They need each other."  
Adrien was speachless. No one ever spoke that way about Chat. No one. It was always Ladybug.  
"I… uh…" Adrien had to catch himself from saying Thanks. "I didn't know you-- you were such a fan?"  
Ahhhhh crap, Marinette thought. I freaked him out, didn't I? Crap Crap Crap.  
"I just think that Chat doesn't get the attention he deserves. Ladybug is wonderful, don't get me wrong, but so is Chat." Once again, Marinette realized in surprise that her statement had actually sounded like proper words.   
Adrien didn't say anything in response. Marinette envisioned herself being swallowed up by the Earth and never having to face the light of day-- or Adrien's smile-- ever again.   
"You met Chat Noir once, didn't you?" Adrien asked, obviously with no ulterior motives than to make conversation with his petite classmate.   
"A couple of times," Marinette said carefully. "I first met him during the Evillustrator incident and then he rescued me when the Gamer attacked."  
Adrien blinked. "That's right-- I had almost forgotten about that one."  
Marinette scrunched her eyebrows. "Huh?"   
Adrien tried to recover quickly. "We were practicing for the Mecha Strike III tournament-- we got separated in the park." He felt his face grow hot. "I-I guess I should apologize. I shouldn’t have run off like that. I should have stayed to make sure you were okay." Even though technically I did, Adrien added in his thoughts. "I'm glad Chat was able to rescue you."   
Marinette felt the corners of her mouth tug up, thinking about her partner and how funny he'd find this whole situation. "I think Chat would be flattered that Adrien Agreste was dressed up like him for a parade."   
Adrien grinned at that. "I think he'd rather be in the parade himself."   
Marinette laughed. Alya had shown her Chat's appearance at the show of their statue in the park. Chat had been drinking it up. "You're probably right," Marinette conceded softly.   
Adrien eyed his classmate with a certain kind of suspicion. He wanted to tease her, joke with her, be her friend, but he was worried that he'd just end up offending her further.   
He decided to go for it. Maybe it was the plastic mask, but he was feeling more like Chat by the second. "Do you like Chat, P- Marinette?" Ah, maybe too much Chat would be a bad thing.   
Marinette's look of shock couldn't be more apparent. "What?" she gasped. "Like Chat? I- no! I mean, I respect him, but like, I- don't!"   
Adrien was laughing. "It's alright, Marinette," he smiled and was relieved when Marinette gave a small smile in return. Adrien had a sudden impulse to confide in his classmate-- something he hadn't even told Nino yet.   
"Can I tell you something, Marinette?" Adrien asked, pretending to watch as Alya started yelling at Chloe.   
"Hmm? I mean-- yeah-yes, of course."   
Adrien felt himself floundering for words. "IreallylikeLadybug," he finally managed to choke out.   
"What?" Marinette gasped. She had guessed Adrien was at least awed by the spotted superheroine, given how he had acted during the Simon Says incident. But he liked her?  
"Really?" Marinette asked.   
Adrien's reply was swallowed up in a scream. Someone else yelled "AKUMA!" which had become the traditional warning call among Parisians for an akuma attack. It was very effective.   
Students began scrambling as a boy from the grade above Adrien and Marinette rose into the air. "I AM THE GRAND MARSHAL!" He yelled.   
"Crap," Marinette and Adrien said at the same time. They looked at each other awkwardly, trying not to make it obvious that they were, in actually, the ones who would be turning up in mere moments to purify the akuma. "Huh--" they both said. "I've got to--."   
They didn't wait to finish the sentences until they were jumping down the ladder. Marinette scrambled off and hid somewhere inconspicuous. Tikki flew out of Marinette's handmade yoyo/purse she had made for the parade.   
"Tikki, Transform Me!"   
Ladybug vaulted into the air, flipping gently to the ground, only steps away from her partner. They both straightened in synchronus. Ladybug smirked and Chat grinned.  
"Shall we, M'lady?" Chat gestured toward The Grand Marshall. 

Defeating the Akuma was fairly simple-- Lucky Charm was a small key. Ladybug had had to throw it at just the right angle to hook it around the Grand Marshal's baton and pull it out of his grasp.   
This wasn't out of the ordinary-- but not being able to find the lucky charm in order to trigger the Miraculous cure… this would be a first. And she was running out of time.   
Well, Marinette thought wryly, at least if my transformation wears off, I won't blow my secret identity. Hopefully, at least.   
Chat was frantically helping her search. He had used Cataclysm only moments after she had used the Lucky Charm. "M'lady," he said warningly as the second to last pad began to blink. "We've got less than two minutes--."   
"I know, Chaton," Ladybug said tensely.   
"We need to hide until our kwamis can recharge," Chat reminded her.   
As he spoke, they both saw the key, beneath some of the wreckage in a tiny little alcove. They both dove for it at the same time.  
Effectively trapping themselves in a tiny enclosed space-- just a bit too close for comfort.   
And less than a minute until they detransformed.   
"Crap," Ladybug and Chat said at the same time.   
"Welp," Ladybug said, resigning herself to showing her homemade Ladybug costume to Chat Noir.   
Chat's eyes widened. "M-My lady?" Was he really going to be able to see who his lady was? Would he know her civilian form? She would laugh when his transformation wore off. Cosplaying as himself. Marinette was right, he did think it was hilarious.   
As a pink light flashed, Chat felt his heart stop. Ladybug's transformation vanished to reveal-- Ladybug?  
Chat felt his own detransformation begin. He felt like he was on the brink of making a connection somewhere in his brain-- something really important. It just wasn't clicking.   
Until the detransformation was complete and Plagg had plopped down on Adrien's shoulder, exhausted.   
Marinette stared back at Chat, now human, but. still. dressed. like. Chat.   
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" Adrien and Marinette both gave weird sort of not-shrill man-cries of confusion.   
"But-"  
"-You're-"  
"-And the parade?-"  
"Oh-"  
"-my-"   
"-gosh."   
"This- I -   
"can't even begin-"  
"What in the world?"   
They seriously sat there for about five minutes, spluttering and blushing as their kwamis shared a dry glance.   
Finally, Adrien managed to snap his mouth shut, knowing that should it open again it would only let loose to further embarrassments. Marinette took a deep breath, worried that she might scream again.   
Adrien. Adrien was Chat Noir. Chat Noir was Adrien. Her goof-ball partner was, in fact, the amazing, polite, kind, and gentle boy in her class whom she happened to have a huge crush on. She felt her face burn. She had been crushing on Chat. The. Entire. Time. She felt a weird sense of both dread and euphoria as she realized that him being Chat Noir didn't lessen the crush she had on Adrien, but rather deepened it.   
She tried not to scream again.   
Adrien was realizing just how much of an idiot he had been the entire time. He hardly knew Marinette, and yet he had been dreaming about her as Ladybug for… the whole of their acquaintance. He had told her [well, attempted] that he loved her on multiple occassions. He had flirted at every opportunity and yet missed the fact that she had been sitting behind him since the first day of school last year.   
How could he possibly be so stupid?  
"Marinette," Tikki said quietly, breaking the silence.   
Marinette blinked. Absent-mindedly, she dug an emergency cookie out of her purse and gave it to Tikki, trying to manage a smile, but it was more of a grimace than anything.   
In her peripheral vision, Marinette noticed Adrien handing Plagg a wedge of pungent cheese from a container in the pocket of his Chat Noir costume.   
"I've always been jealous that your suit has pockets," Marinette blurted out. Then she met Adrien's- Chat's- eyes and snapped her mouth shut.   
Adrien blinked but then snorted as he tried not to laugh.   
Marinette found herself smiling in return.   
"It's about time you two figured it out!" Plagg complained as he devoured his cheese energetically. He rolled his eyes at his chosen. "I mean, really, kid? How did you not see this coming?"   
"Plagg," Tikki chastised him. The little black cat looked abashed, glacning away from the little red kwami.   
"You knew?" Adrien managed, glaring at the cat on his shoulder.   
"We can sense each other- particularly when you transform," Tikki supplied, a little apologetically. She glanced up at Marinette. "I'm sorry, but it wasn't my place to tell you."   
Marinette affectionately rubbed Tikki's head with the tip of her finger. "It's alright," Marinette smiled at her kwami. "I hadn't wanted to know anyway."   
"I did!" Adrien huffed, folding his arms. Neither Marinette nor Adrien noticed, but Plagg shot Tikki a conspiratorial wink.   
Marinette had never seen Adrien act so Chat-like. She pointed a finger at him. "You know as well as I do that we couldn't-- well, we shouldn't have shared our identities. What if Hawk Moth discovered us?"   
Adrien pouted a bit, but seeing Marinette step up to him, like Ladybug did, was enough to make his heart sink again. She must hate him. How could he have never seen? She was right there the whole time.   
"I just-- I never would have guessed," Marinette said finally, sitting back when Adrien didn't reply. "Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir. Huh." Her muscles tensed as she remembered. She remembered all the-- all the akuma battles…  
"Oh no…" she murmured… "Dark Cupid-- Oh, gosh, Antibug." Marinette began listing all of the most embarrassing akuma attacks.  
Adrien caught on and his eyes widened. "Evillustrator!" he gasped. "You weren't even really on a secret mission!"  
Marinette actually laughed at that one. "Oh my goodness, I had forgotten about that." her statement triggered something and she narrowed her eyes. "The gamer?"   
Adrien had the sense to be a little embarrassed. Then his face colored, but he pointed an accusatory finger at her. "Simon Says," he shot back.  
Marinette clammed up at that. Adrien leaned back against the wall of debri looking smug. Then he blinked. "Wait-- what about Dark Cupid? Just that I said stupid stuff?"   
Marinette's lips closed even tighter. She turned her attention back to her Kwami. "Ah, Tikki? Ready for the Miraculous Cure?"  
"Sure, Marinette," Tikki said.  
"Transformez-moi!"   
Adrien had to shield his eyes from the pink energy that engulfed Marinette. Then Ladybug was there, holding the little red key that would get them out. She raised a masked eyebrow at her partner. "Are you going to transform or would you like the whole school to know that Francois-Dupont's resident model parades around Paris in a cat suit?"   
Adrien felt his face burn beneath his plastic mask.   
"Plagg-"  
"-but I'm not finished yet-"  
"Transformez-moi!"  
Ladybug wasn't sure she'd ever get used to seeing Adrien Agreste turn into Chat Noir, but she had no doubt that it would become a regular thing. A thought occurred to her that at least now they'd be able to cover for each other.   
Chat grinned back when the green light faded.   
"Let's do this."


	4. The Aftermath and Beyond (ish)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The parade, the talks, the awkward adorableness and feels. Adrien is a sad little cat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought about splitting this up. Then I didn't. Here you go. After this it just gets ridiculous.  
> 

Only moments later, Adrien and Marinette showed up to the site of the Parade. Paris had now gotten so used to akumas that they were the equivalent of severe weather. If it passed in time, people were still expected to fulfill all their obligations.  
Thus the parade would still proceed as planned. Even though Alya was freaking out. With an apologetic smile to Adrien, Marinette went to consol her friend.  
Adrien watched her go with a twinge of regret. He was a bit envious, if he was being honest. Now that he knew who Ladybug was, he wanted to have all Marinette's attention for himself. She was the kindest girl, the most compassionate person he had ever met. She was… well, miraculous.  
I love her.  
The thought crossed his mind suddenly. Like a flash of lightning (intended).  
I love her, he thought again, practically giddy with the prospect. He knew who she was. He knew her. All the guilt at having not recognized her before melted before the idea that he loved Marinette. Her fierce determination. Her outgoing and caring attitude.  
I love her.  
Adrien and Marinette perched atop their fake Eiffel Tower moments later as the sky began to darken and the lights of Paris flickered into life. Adrien looked over at Marinette and smiled contentedly. She turned the smile, tucking one knee under her chin.  
"This is nice," she commented.  
"The parade?" Adrien suggested with a raised eyebrow. "Or…" he gestured between them.  
She glared at him. It was one thing for Chat to flirt while they were in costume, but Adrien? Marinette blushed at the very idea of Adrien Agreste dropping puns with flirtatious winks during class.  
"This," Marinette waved her hand between them and then gestured to all of Paris. "All of this. It's nice."  
"I agree, Milady," he nudged her with his shoulder. "It's not every day that I get to sit beside a super hero."  
Marinette rolled her eyes. If he was going to make constant allusions to their double lives someone was bound to figure it out. "You're awful, mon chaton."  
"Ah, but I am ton chaton," he leaned his face close to hers, grinning as he did.  
Marinette balked but then pushed his nose away with a finger, trying to hide the blush that crept up her face. "If you keep doing that someone's going to put it together." The gravity of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks. "We can't risk anyone else discovering our identities."  
Adrien leaned back on his palms, studying Marinette as he realized that she was right. "But does this mean that we have to pretend that we don't know-- let things go back to the way they were?" But he had barely been her acquaintance as just plain Adrien. There was no way he'd be able to just sit there and pretend that she wasn't the love of his life.  
Marinette made a face. "I don't think so. Some things are bound to change." She dropped her head back onto her knee. Adrien couldn't help noticing that her eyes seemed to twinkle in the evening light. She turned to glare at him, but he could hear that there was no real venom in her voice. "No cat puns in class."  
Adrien groaned. "But Mari," he whined. "Cat puns are-  
"Don't you dare."  
"paw-some."  
"Why do I put up with you?" Marinette wondered aloud.  
Adrien rubbed his face against her shoulder. Something Chat would definitely do- but it gave Marinette a jolt to see Adrien Agreste…  
"Because you love me?" Adrien suggested, blinking up at her with kitten eyes.  
Marinette caught herself before she responded thoughtlessly with something like 'oh, right' or 'I guess I do'.  
Instead, she gently shouldered him off. She wasn't ready for this conversation. They'd have it, and probably soon, but not now. Not on top of the fake eiffel tower with golden light illuminating Adrien's face. Probably on top of the real Eiffel Tower or somewhere more secluded so they could detransform and talk as normal human beings.  
Adrien was just glad she hadn't said no, she didn't love him.  
The float began to move. The song Jagged Stone had written for Ladybug began playing from loud speakers as their classmates began to wave at the crowd. Marinette felt something melancholic begin to build up in her chest as she waved down at Paris. She saw her parents, proudly supporting WE LOVE LADYBUG T-shirts. They cheered loudly as her class's float passed.  
Marinette saw Alya's mom. Nino's family. Mylene's dad, proudly clapping and whistling for the Horrificator. All the families had turned up. Even Mayor Bugeois had made an appearance.  
No Gabriel Agreste, though.  
Not even Natalie and the Gorilla.  
Marinette looked at Adrien. He had his 'poster boy' smile on. It was one of the first things Marinette had ever noticed about Adrien. He had one smile that he gave to teachers, classmates, the camera, and everyone else in the world. It was bright and happy. but it wasn't content. It wasn't… pure? Marinette couldn't think of the right word, but it was like half a smile. A smile that didn't reach his eyes.  
But then there were times, like when he had given her the umbrella, or when he was talking to Nino, or when he was Chat Noir, that the smile illuminated his whole being. Heck, he could probably illuminate all of Paris with that smile.  
Adrien noticed her staring. His smile brightened.  
They would talk about it later, she decided. 

They had met on the Eiffel Tower, but as Marinette had guessed, they decided to meet on her balcony to detransform and talk for a bit. Marinette beat him there, detransforming quickly. Chat landed a second later, letting go of his transformation as he did so.  
Marinette pulled some crates up so they could sit and see the lights of Paris together. Without thinking, Marinette leaned against Adrien's shoulder casually. In a previous life, she would have screamed at the thought of such familiar contact. But he was her best friend. She had literally thrown him half way across Paris before. She shouldn't really be afraid of nearness now.  
"Did your Dad get to see any part of the parade?" Marinette asked quietly.  
Adrien stiffened, but shook his head, relaxing slightly. "No. He has a show in a few days. He was tied up at work."  
"I'm sorry, Adrien." She looked up at him, watching for a response.  
To her surprise, a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "This may sound weird, Mari, but I really like it when you say my name."  
Marinette smiled in return and settled herself against his shoulder again. "I guess I'll have to start saying it more often."  
My dad's never around, he wanted to say. I don't think I've had an actual family since my mom disappeared. He wanted to tell her everything. I've felt so hopeless. I've wanted to run away. My Dad used to be a human, but now he's just a shell. Am I not good enough? Will I ever be good enough? Does he even care about me? He wanted to just spill his guts. These are things he's wanted to talk to Ladybug about ever since they met.  
But he didn't want to ruin this moment with Marinette.  
"We can talk about it if you want," Marinette offered, not looking at him. "Or we can talk about it tomorrow, or whenever you're ready."  
Adrien's mouth suddenly felt dry. "I've been ready to talk to you since the day we met, Milady."  
He felt Marinette shift slightly as she smiled. "I'm glad you're Chat Noir," she sighed after a long moment of comfortable silence.  
Adrien was surprised by that turn in the conversation. "You are?" He'd thought she was somewhat apathetic toward the whole idea.  
She glanced up at him. He felt his breath hitch as he realized how close her face was. "Of course," she replied. "I don’t think I've ever seen you as happy as you are when you're Chat. Maybe when you're hanging out with Nino," she added.  
Adrien wanted to kiss her. He had never actually kissed a girl before, but he wanted to kiss this one. He blinked. "Oh, I-uh. Well, yeah. Being Chat… I guess I get to be myself a bit more. No doubt, though," he said, grinning at her, "the best part about being Chat Noir is the fact that I work side by side with the most beautiful girl in the world."  
He reached with the hand that wasn't currently balancing both himself and Marinette to brush a stray hair out of her eyes. He was surprised when her eyes grew wide and a blush dusted across her fair skin.  
Marinette breathed a laugh weakly and found that her tongue had grown thick in her mouth, stopping any form of coherent conversation. Then she (perhaps mercifully, perhaps not) remembered the Dark Cupid.  
She gasped, turned away and bit her lip, feeling her entire face begin to burn.  
Adrien felt a surge of confidence. He put his arm that Marinette had been leaning on around her waist lightly. Lightly enough that he would remove it if she asked him to or if she seemed uncomfortable. "Mari?"  
"Uhm," Marinette bit the inside of her cheek. "It's nothing, really, Adrien, I just-- did you ever see the footage from Dark Cupid?"  
There wasn't any, Adrien thought about saying. And Kim doesn't remember anything but Ladynoir was trending for the next two days following.  
"No," he said, still breathy. "Did something happen that you didn't tell me?"  
Marinette wasn't ready for this conversation. She needed at least two weeks to uselessly obsess over such questions. She had never bothered to wonder what Chat would have done had he figured out what happened. But since Chat was Adrien.  
"There was a… Well, you were hit by Dark Cupid's arrow," Marinette began, mortified at what she was admitting to.  
"Yeah," Adrien prompted. She hadn't pushed his hand away.  
"W-Well, remember in class on Valentine's day? Mme Bustier talking about the only way for the prince to wake the princess?"  
"The prince kis- ah- kisses? The princess?" Adrien thought he could see where this was going and he felt his neck grow warm.  
"Ye-Yeah," Marinette gulped. "So, y'know, when you had been hit-- I, well, it was only to break the spell would you stop laughing??"  
Adrien was practically doubled over, but he was burying his face in her hair, wrapping both arms around her now, and laughing until tears streamed down his face.  
"I-I'm sorry Milady," he said between fits of giggles. "I just-- your face, trying to imagine… you must have been horrified."  
"You were horrified," Marinette countered, pouting. "You even called me a savage."  
Adrien's giggles slowly started to recede, but he kept his face buried in her pigtails. Marinette could feel his breath on the side of her neck.  
"Maybe I could get a do-over?" Adrien suggested quietly. "I mean, it was my first kiss. I was unprepared."  
Marinette stiffened. "Adrien, I--."  
He backed off instantly, putting his hands on her shoulders as he gently turned her to face him. "I'm sorry," he said removing his hands. "I didn't--."  
"No, no," Marinette said quickly, "It's not that I don't, I mean, it's not that I don't want to kiss you, but I-- this is all just so fast. I… I should be okay with it. I mean, I've wanted to kiss you for--."  
Marinette snapped her mouth shut, but she had said enough. He smiled, but he was still a bit guarded. Marinette felt her heart soar. He would never push her past her comfort zone. If she was uncomfortable, he would stop, no further explanation needed.  
How did she get so lucky?  
Marinette's smile grew and she felt a surge of confidence. She put her hands on either side of his face-- so familiar, even without the mask-- and kissed him.  
Like when she had kissed Chat, Marinette found that her heart rate picked up and she felt a little light headed.  
Adrien kissed her back, returning the kiss.  
It was short, sweet, and innocent, but it left them both wishing for more without the confidence to ask for another.  
"How about we call that our first kiss?" Adrien asked. His voice was barely above a whisper.  
Marinette was inclined to agree, but the bubbly soda-pop sensation in her chest make her inclined to tease. "What makes you think there'll be more, Chaton?"  
Adrien leaned in and pressed his lips to hers again. She, naturally, didn't mind.  
"It's getting near midnight," Marinette reminded him. "We do have school tomorrow."  
Adrien leaned his forehead against hers. "We were supposed to talk about appropriate school behavior, weren't we, Princess?"  
Marinette traded her hands on his face to wrap her arms around him, hugging him close. "We were," she sighed. "And now I'm afraid we've just gone and made it even more complicated."  
"We could start dating?" Adrien suggested, smiling down at her through his golden eyelashes. "That would explain a lot of things. We could blame it on the parade-- and the akuma. We'd be able to cover for each other's disappearances that way."  
"Is that your way of asking me out, mon chaton?" Marinette teased.  
"Only if you say yes."  
Marinette kissed his nose. "Alright, but Alya's going to flip."  
Marinette wasn't sure she had ever seen Adrien or Chat smile so brightly as he did right then. He kissed her one last time before transforming.  
"Then I'll be off, Princess," he said, pressing his lips to her knuckles in farewell. "Until tomorrow."  
"Good night, Chaton," she whispered as he dissolved into the night. "Sweet dreams."

Adrien met Marinette just as she was walking up the steps to school. Alya and Nino were at the top of the staircase. Adrien didn’t even think about it, but grabbed Marinette's hand and interlaced their finders, kissing the entwined tips.  
"Good morning, Milady," he said, glancing up at her as he bowed over her hand. He winked conspiratorially.  
Marinette glanced around hastily, hoping no one had heard that. "You can't call me that here," she reminded him, smiling to take off any edge there might still be to her words. She stood on tip toe to kiss his cheek. She paused briefly to whisper in his ear. "Good morning, Chaton."  
Still holding hands, they made their way up to the front doors, talking about the homework they both hadn't finished until 2:00 that morning.  
Then Marinette heard Alya screech.  
Marinette looked around, positive that it must be an akuma attack or something, but Alya was staring slack-jawed at Marinette and Adrien's entwined hands.  
Marinette felt her face flush.  
"H-Hey, Alya," Marinette waved with her free hand. She and Adrien finished the last few steps until they were level with Alya and Nino. Nino still bore the remnants of blue facepaint from the parade, and Alya still had raccoon eyes from the makeup beneath the mask she had been wearing as Lady Wifi.  
"Bro!" Nino raised a fist for Adrien to bump. "Are you two finally dating?"  
"Finally?" Adrien asked, confused.  
"YOU ARE???" Alya practically screamed. She then strangled her best friend in a hug. "Mari! YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?!"  
Marinette laughed, glancing at Adrien over Alya's shoulder as she did so. "Sorry, it was kind of sudden."  
Alya held Marinette at arm's length. "I need all the details!!! Did he ask you out? Did you finally ask him? C'mon girl!!! Answers!!!"  
Adrien laughed behind Alya, giving Marinette the distraction she needed to escape and cling on to her… boyfriend's? arm. Was he really her boyfriend? Marinette liked the sound of it.  
"Bro, Alya's been waiting for this day ever since you two met," Nino interjected.  
"What? Really?" Adrien grinned down at Marinette as if this was news to her. Marinette only blushed in response. That was when it finally clicked in Adrien's head and he grinned widely, one might even say wickedly. "You had a crush on me?"  
Marinette's face burned. "Okay, yes, but-- aaaaand you're laughing again."  
Adrien's forehead was on her shoulder again as the laughter came bubbling out. "S-sorry!" he choked out between bursts of giggles. "I- I just-- I didn't--."  
Alya and Nino looked at each other, bewildered, and then back at Mari as she rubbed the back of Adrien's head. Mari rolled her eyes at her overly dramatic boyfriend. "It's really not that funny, Adrien."  
Still resting his chin on her shoulder, he smiled at her as the last of the giggles died. "I just wouldn't have guessed," He kissed the tip of her nose. "We're a lucky pair, wouldn't you say?"  
Marinette narrowed her eyes suspiciously as Adrien straightened himself. "Miraculous," she agreed.  
Adrien grinned.  
The warning bell rang and the four of them scurried off to class, ignoring the murmured comments, pointing fingers, and the occasional exchange of wager winnings.


	5. More or Less an Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kinda an Epilogue part 1 The future defeat of Papillon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As mentioned before I am garbage. I am avoiding homework and i really should have gone to bed half an hour ago. I would say I'm sorry for pushing my trash onto all of you, but I'm really not.  
> I just really like stories to go all the way to the end, y'know? I'm a mess. I will apologize for that.

A lot of people just assumed that Adrien and Marinette's relationship really wouldn't last much longer outside of lycee. They said it was just a high school crush-- mostly on Marinette's side.  
Of course, they didn't know the half of it. Not until the last year of lycee, that is.  
It was revealed that Papillon was, in fact, Gabriel Agreste. Adrien stayed at Marinette's for the days following as Ladybug and Chat Noir did all they could to track him down and strip him of his miraculous.  
For the first time in years, Adrien felt like he had a family with Tom and Sabine. And Marinette.  
They found him after four grueling days. He tried to use his akumas to control the younger heroes, but to no avail.  
Chat got him pinned beneath his baton and he tore off the miraculous, tossing it to his Lady who stood behind him. The miraculous transformation wore off, leaving simple Gabriel Agreste in the place of Papillon.  
Angry tears had rolled down Chat's face.  
"I loved you," Chat spat. "I tried to live up to every single stupid expectation you ever had for me. Why, pere?"  
Chat's baton was pressing into Gabriel's throat. His periwinkle eyes widened in fear, shock, and dismay. "Adrien?" he choked.  
Chat looked like he might slap Gabriel, or throttle him. "I was your son," Chat snapped. "How could you?"  
"Adrien," Ladybug said softly.  
He turned away from his father, looking at Ladybug. She knelt beside him, a hand on his back. "We can report him to the authorities. We'll take him there. Let the city of Paris decide."  
Adrien realized that his father was losing air. Chat jumped back as if electrocuted. Silent tears still slipped off of his mask. He turned to Ladybug and buried his face in her neck, holding her close.  
Ladybug rubbed soothing circles on his back (after casually flicking her yoyo to mummy-wrap Gabriel to prevent him from escaping) "It's okay," she whispered, only now aware of the tears in her own eyes. "It's going to be okay, Chaton. It'll be okay, Adrien, I promise." 

Gabriel was taken and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. The intent of his crimes had been to gain the miraculous of Chat Noir and Ladybug. He had used akumas to draw them out. His intent, once he had the miraculous, would have been to bring his wife back. She had disappeared, presumably kidnapped.  
Marinette's family turned the guest room into Adrien's permanent residence.  
Adrien had had to testify to the court. He had sat there beside Ladybug, in her costume, he holding her hand, waiting for his turn to condemn his own father.  
He tried to be emotionless. He tried to not let the tears slip through. He was Adrien Agreste. He wasn't supposed to have emotions, as he had been told by the man now sitting before him.  
Ladybug testified against Papillon on behalf of herself. For evidence of kwami-- without dragging Nooroo into this (Tikki had been adamant that Nooroo had been through enough turmoil)-- Plagg went with Ladybug, silently confirming the evidence of kwami and the miraculous stones.  
As soon as they were done they went home Adrien curled up on the couch with his head in Marinette's lap. They fell asleep like that and only woke up the next morning (late-- much to late to make it to school) when Alya and Nino were ushered in by Tom and Sabine.  
Isn't it interesting how sometimes you don't need to say anything for people to know that you care?  
"Thanks, guys," Adrien finally said, his head still on Marinette's lap. "I'm fine, really."  
"You will be," Marinette amended.  
"I will be," Adrien agreed.  
"I couldn't believe it when I heard," Nino said. "Papillon. Right there… the whole time?"  
"Nino!" Alya smacked his arm.  
"It's alright, Alya," Adrien sat up, but kept his fingers entwined with Marinette's. "It was a surprise. The whole time. He was right there."  
"Did Ladybug say anything at the trial?" Nino asked. "How long have they known?"  
"Only a few days," Marinette spoke up for Adrien. "She and Chat Noir have only known for a few days. Adrien's been staying here since then."  
"Wow," Nino said.  
"I just can't believe it's over," Adrien said. His tears had run dry. Now he just felt numb. The only sensation was the warmth of Marinette's hand. "He's gone." Marinette squeezed his hand.  
"Adrien," Marinette said suddenly. "Do you think we should tell them now?"  
Adrien blinked. "Tell them? Tell them what?"  
Marinette taped his ring with a finger, allowing a hollow smile to pull at her lips. "It doesn't really matter now, does it?"  
Adrien's eyes widened. Tell Alya and Nino about their miraculous? In Adrien's mind, the miraculous was like a link that made family. Marinette was his family. Even Papillion. Family. Include Alya and Nino in on this?  
"Yes. I think so-- I mean," he blinked, remembering the actual question Marinette had asked. "No- it doesn't matter. I think we should tell them."  
"Tell us… what?" Nino asked, looking between them.  
"Are you pregnant?" Alya half-whispered in horror to Marinette.  
"What?!" Marinette gasped, her face going red. "No! Adrien and I haven't-- No! Oh my gosh, Alya!"  
"Then what--?"  
Marinette glanced at the door that led to the bakery. It was closed tightly and Marinette was fairly confident that her parents would leave them alone for a bit.  
Marinette opened her jacket to see Tikki curled up on her side. "Tikki?" the little red kwami nodded determinedly. "Transform me."  
As the pink light began to engulf Marinette, Adrien turned to his kwami. "Plagg, transform me."  
"Sure kid," Plagg tried a cavalier grin as he was sucked into the miraculous.  
Alya and Nino stared, dumb-founded, as Marinette and Adrien suddenly became Ladybug and Chat Noir.  
"Zut." Nino breathed.  
"REALLY?" Alya probably would have yelled, if she wasn't so in awe of her superhero best friend.  
Marinette and Adrien let go of their transformations at the same time, the kwami coming to sit together on top of their chosen's entwined hands.  
"Whoa, whoa, what's that?" Nino pointed at the kwami.  
"Plagg, nice to meet you," Plagg said dryly.  
Tikki nudged him with her elbow. "Plagg, be nice." She turned toward Alya and Nino. "I'm Tikki. Marinette talks about the two of you often. It's nice to finally meet you."  
Alya and Nino crawled on their knees to get a closer look at the kwami, their eyes wide. "What even are they?" Nino asked, raising a finger as if to poke Plagg.  
"We," Plagg said, pulling Tikki away so they sat on Adrien's shoulder, "are kwamis-- we give Chat Noir and Ladybug their powers. Like tiny little gods of creation and destruction." He bared his tiny fangs in a futile attempt to look threatening.  
Nino's eyes widened. "Cool."  
Alya was biting her lip, looking at Marinette guiltily. Marinette smiled, but Tikki was there in Alya's face before she could say anything.  
"Alya, don't worry about what trouble your blog might have caused Ladybug. Marinette is just glad to be your friend. Besides Chat Noir, you've always been the first person she's wanted to tell."  
Alya blinked. "Y-You know my name? My blog?"  
Tikki nodded, returning to her spot beside Plagg. "I like to read it while Marinette is studying," Tikki smiled. "You do very good work. Thank you for all your support."  
Alya finally looked at Marinette, her expression still etched with guilt. "All the same, I'm sorry, Mari-- I hadn't… If I had known, I just…"  
Mari shook her head. "That's the whole point, you couldn't know. Tikki's right, though, I've always just been glad that you're my friend."  
"But when you think about it," Nino said suddenly. He was leaning back now, as if he had been deep in thought while Alya and Tikki talked. "This actually makes a lot of sense. Like, Al, how have we never noticed this before?" He began ticking points off his fingers. "So they both look a lot like Ladybug and Chat Noir, they both disappear at the same time, they both have those miraculous earring/rings things whatever they are, neither of them have ever been akumatized, and then, when they started dating, that's when ladybug and chat noir started dating as well. I mean, zut, Al."  
Marinette rested her head on Adrien's shoulder-- the one vacant of kwamis.  
"We're home," she murmured.  
Adrien kissed her forehead. "A family makes a home." 

Adrien stayed with Marinette's family until he graduated. The year after graduation Adrien was sent to study abroad with some of his father's more sympathetic old colleagues. At the same time, Marinette was offered an internship with a haute-coture fashion line.  
For a year they only had daily contact via calls and texts late into the night. They missed each other terribly.  
But the year was good for them. They both grew in ways they hadn't expected. And it really only brought them closer. Marinette became much more confident, as did Adrien.  
She went to pick him up at the Paris Aeroport. They had video screens to give waiting families time to stand when their passengers arrived. Tom and Sabine were there as well. Adrien's room in the bakery was all set, though Marinette had moved out a few months previously.  
When she finally saw his face, Marinette's heart skipped a beat. She began bouncing up and down, impatient for him to arrive.  
When he stepped past the final barrier-- as soon as he was in view-- Marinette ran to him, practically tackling him to the ground, but he caught her and spun for a second as he regained their balance.  
"Adrien," Marinette sighed. It was like a bubble of anticipation had finally popped in her chest.  
He was laughing. "Mari," he murmured into her neck. "I've missed you so much."  
They hugged for several moments more-- thousands of people shuffling past them. Then Adrien's lips found hers and time stood still for just the two of them.  
It was a long moment before Tom and Sabine came up, Tom clearing his throat gently.  
Marinette's face was very pink (Adrien found it the most beautiful thing he had seen in his entire life) but she stepped to the side, still keeping her arms around Adrien as he hugged her parents. There were tears in his eyes. Happy tears, Marinette thought.  
"I'm home," he said, kissing her forehead.  
"You're home," Marinette agreed. 

That night was the first combined Ladybug and Chat Noir sighting in over a year. Marinette and Adrien had unpacked Adrien's things, helped with dinner, and chatted about Adrien's travels and experiences.  
They sat on top of the Eiffel Tower, casually leaning against each other and holding hands. They didn't need to speak. To speak was just a more audible form of thinking. They watched the Parisian stars twinkle beneath them. They watched people pull out their phones and video record them, but they didn't care.  
"Milady," Chat said at one point. "There's something I need to talk to you about."  
"Ouais, Chaton?" Ladybug said, looking at him curiously. Oh, how she loved this man.  
"Well, maybe here isn't the best place-- can we meet on the balcony? In about fifteen minutes?"  
"Sure-- out of uniform, I assume?" She teased him lightly, flicking the bell that hung on his neck.  
He smirked. "Definitely." He kissed her lightly. "I'll meet you there."  
Ladybug watched him go, feeling her heartstrings pull to follow him. Which she did a moment later. 

Marinette met Adrien on the balcony of her parent's bakery. As soon as she dropped onto the rooftop, dropping her transformation as she did so, Adrien pulled her into a deep kiss. Marinette held on to him like he was the air she needed to breathe.  
The broke apart after a long moment.  
"What did you need to talk about, Adrien?" Marinette asked, resting her head on his chest and hearing his heartbeat through his shirt.  
"Give me a minute," he said, trying to catch his breath. "I just… I love you, Marinette. I love you so much."  
Marinette smiled, breathing in Adrien's scent deeply. "I love you too."  
Adrien pulled back just enough so he could look at her, one crooked finger angling her chin so she would look up at him silhouetted against the stars, yet his face illuminated by the lights of home.  
"I want to be with you forever," he said decisively. "I've thought about this a lot."  
He took a step back and got down on one knee, pulling out a little ring box. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng," he opened the box, revealing a small gold ring. "Will you marry me?"  
Marinette knelt beside him and pulled his face into a kiss, sweet, chaste, but deep and powerful. The kind of kiss that said, 'there is nothing I have ever wanted more'.  
When they broke apart, Marinette smiled at him as they rested their foreheads against each other's. "Yes, Chaton. I'll marry you."


	6. Final Epilogue: Kwamis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Look, Plagg/Tikki is one of my favorite things.  
> And Nooroo needs to be protected at all costs.

"You can come out now," Tikki said softly. "It's just us."  
Tikki and Plagg waited patiently for Nooroo to leave his miraculous. It was a slow process. Nooroo still felt stained by all the evil energy Gabriel had forced him to use. He didn't want to be around Tikki and Plagg, even if they had just rescued him.  
Finally, the little lilac kwami emerged, blinking slowly. 'Tikki… Plagg…" Nooroo began to rub his eyes, stopping the tears before they came. "I-I'm so--s-so sorry. I'm sorry!" the little kwami tears glittered with an ethereal light as Nooroo cried.  
Tikki was there by his side in a second. "Shhhh… it wasn't your fault, Nooroo," she soothed him.  
Plagg let Tikki be the comforting one. He knew what Nooroo was going through.  
Not every Chat Noir was as kind-hearted as Adrien.  
"It--I just-- It was so dark," Nooroo shivered.  
Plagg nodded. Nooroo wasn't talking about the abandoned building that Gabriel had kept his akumas in. Plagg knew, better than anyone. Nooroo meant Gabriel's soul. Each kwami became a sort of symbiotic-thing with their chosens while in the transformation of their miraculous. The kwami could feel the soul, even if the chosens themselves weren't aware of it.  
The darker the soul… well. It's hard for a kwami to describe what that's like, but imagine bathing in oil, thick, black, and greasy.  
"It's alright," Tikki soothed.  
Plagg heard her voice over his own dark reveries. During those times, when his miraculous had fallen into the hands of someone less than worthy, Tikki had been the only thing keeping him sane. Every time his Chat Noirs had had to face Ladybug, he had felt Tikki's healing presence.  
"It's over now," she murmured to their kwami brother. "He's gone. You're safe."  
Nooroo cried into Tikki's shoulder.  
"Tomorrow, Adrien and Marinette will take your miraculous to Master Fu," Plagg finally spoke. "You'll be safe. If you'd like a new holder now, you should let us know and we'll pass the word along. If you'd like to wait, we can tell them that as well."  
"I don't. I don't want it yet. I'm not ready for a holder yet. I need time to heal. Who else is with--?"  
"Wayzz is there," Tikki said helpfully. "Though I'm not sure how much longer he'll be with his holder."  
"Master Fu is ancient," Plagg added helpfully. "But he should still have Xeunne and Quov." [je ne sais pas, mes copains I just made up the names].  
Nooroo was quiet for a long time. He had let go of Tikki and now stared sullenly at his miraculous, the butterfly broach. Plagg floated up behind him, putting a paw around his shoulders.  
"You'll be alright, Nooroo. Wayzz and Fu will help. It'll get better, I promise."  
Nooroo looked at Plagg as if he was seeing him for the first time. "You've… you've done this before…?"  
Plagg nodded, smiling at his periwinkle brother. "You'll get a better holder next time. And if you don't, Tikki and I will be there as quick as we can to save you."  
Nooroo nuzzled his head into Plagg's side. Plagg, uncomfortable with anyone but Tikki being that close, stiffened at the contact. "Yeah, Yeah, you'll be alright."  
Nooroo smiled at him. "Thank you, Plagg."  
There was the sudden sound of steps on the stairs leading up to Marinette's room. Tikki and Plagg shared a look.  
"Nooroo, hide!" Tikki hissed. "Hurry, we'll talk to you again when they're asleep."  
"Okay," he said, zooming back into the broach.  
The steps paused, giving Tikki and Plagg a moment to breathe. Tikki glanced at her partner. "Plagg-."  
"Nooroo will be okay," Plagg said vehemently. Then he finally caught her blue gaze, full of concern and love. His own expression softened. "I'm glad you're here, Tikki," he said.  
Tikki smiled at him. "I'll always be here, Plagg. As long as you're here, I'm here too."  
Plagg took Tikki's hand in his paw. "I know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALRIGHT I'M DONE I'M LEAVING IT ALONE. GOODNIGHT. I CAN'T BELIEVE PEOPLE WILL ACTUALLY SEE THIS.  
> L'ermite out.


End file.
